Antim, a senior World Championships bronze medallist, lost 10-0 to Turkiye’s Zeynep Yetgil, a two-time European Championships bronze winner.
Wrestler Antim Panghal (photo: IANS)
Two-time junior world champion Antim Panghal’s Olympic debut ended with a first-round defeat in the women’s 53kg wrestling event at the Champ-de-Mars Arena on Wednesday.
Antim, a senior World Championships bronze medallist, lost 10-0 to Turkiye’s Zeynep Yetgil, a two-time European Championships bronze winner.
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The fourth-seeded Indian began her bout cautiously against the unseeded Yetgil, who opened up the lead by successfully executing a takedown for two points and then flipped Antim again to go 4-0 up in the opening minute. Yetgil then scored six points in the next few seconds to wrap up the bout 10-0 on technical superiority inside 90 seconds.
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With Yetgil pinned by Germany’s Annika Wendle in the next round, Antim’s chance to secure a bronze medal via repechage was also ended.
Antim secured the Paris Olympics quota for India in the women’s 53kg with a bronze medal at the World Championships last year. She eventually replaced veteran Vinesh Phogat to become India’s top wrestler in the weight division.
It was Antim’s meteoric rise in India’s wrestling scene that left Vinesh with no options but to switch to the 50kg weight division for her third Olympics. However, earlier in the day, Vinesh missed the weight cut by a little over 100 grams during the weigh-in, leading to her disqualification from the gold medal bout.
Meanwhile, Antim also defended her U-20 world crown last year and clinched a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2023 in October.
A total of six wrestlers made it to India’s squad for the Paris Games. Nisha Dahiya was eliminated in the quarter-finals of women’s 68kg on Monday.
On Thursday, Aman Sehrawat, India’s only wrestler to compete in the men’s freestyle at Paris, will feature in the 57kg division while Anshu Malik will start her campaign in the women’s 57kg category. Reetika Hooda, competing in the women’s 76kg, will be in action on Saturday.
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